YOUR GUIDE TO TODAY — WRRDA’s voyage: The House Transportation Committee holds a hearing this morning to get an update on several water projects under consideration by the Army Corps of Engineers. With an eye on locking down the final list of projects in a new water resources bill that’s been the subject of months-long talks with the Senate, the members are already under pressure to include several projects — like the Morganza flood control project in Louisiana that EPW ranking member David Vitter has voiced support for. Sen. Mary Landrieu wrote House T&I leaders Bill Shuster and Nick Rahall asking that the $10.3 billion project be included in the final version; it was in the Senate-passed version but not the one that cleared the House last year. “The time for action is now,” Landrieu wrote ( http://1.usa.gov/1nWGGON). More on the T&I hearing today at 10 a.m.: http://1.usa.gov/1jJHG4V

Let’s talk about P3s: The Eno Center for Transportation puts out a new paper on public-private partnerships at a Hill event this morning, with the help of former DOT leaders Mary Peters and Norm Mineta, among others. P3s getting a lot of attention as lawmakers look at new ways to help fund transportation projects amid tight budget times; a special House T&I panel continues to meet on the idea and will offer recommendations this summer. But people hoping for a P3 panacea are out of luck — the paper says that the base money “will need to come from user fees, tax revenues, or other dedicated funding sources, and P3s provide one way of assembling the upfront investment resources needed to get projects started.” Watch the 9 a.m. event: http://bit.ly/1tWA87a

The rumor mill: Keep an eye out for a possible DOT announcement on its legislative proposal to Congress for the looming surface transportation bill, according to a few rumors making the rounds yesterday.

AMTRAK DROPS CLIPPERS SPONSORSHIP: “Amtrak is distancing itself from the Los Angeles Clippers after the team’s owner was caught on tape making racist remarks. The passenger railroad, which operates as a private company but is partially funded through taxpayer subsidies, said in a statement Monday its sponsorship of the NBA team ‘expired at the end of the regular season a few weeks ago.’ Amtrak is one of a string of Clippers sponsors to drop their team sponsorship since Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s comments caused an uproar over the weekend. ‘Amtrak believes the language used is unacceptable and is inconsistent with our corporate belief to treat everyone with integrity and dignity,’ the company said.” Full story: http://politi.co/1itFtiM

In related news: Virgin America and CarMax are ending their sponsorships, and support from Kia is on hold. Vox has more: http://bit.ly/1m3CV95

TRANSPORTATION INFLUENCE: See where the money — and influence — is going in the transportation world in the inaugural issue of Transportation Influence, by Kevin: http://politico.pro/1jaiZSL

TUESDAY, APRIL 29. Thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports, where on this day in 1899, one of the District of Columbia’s most famous residents — Edward Kennedy Ellington — was born. You probably know him as Duke. Please be in touch: asnider@politico.com and @AdamKSnider.

DON’T DRIVE IT: Sens. Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal, two of the most vocal senators in the GM recall saga, have asked that federal regulators tell consumers to stop driving the cars affected by ignition problems. In a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, the pair wrote that “failure to do so could result in additional accidents, injuries and deaths.” GM had already rejected an earlier request from the senators for a stop-driving order. “We believe you — as the federal regulator referred to by the court — have a unique opportunity to protect public safety by taking stronger action to issue warnings of these dangers,” Blumenthal and Markey wrote ( http://1.usa.gov/1lrXbCT). “We urge you to do everything in your power to get these defective vehicles off the road.”

DOT’s take: “We will respond directly to Senators Markey and Blumenthal regarding their letter,” a department spokesperson said. “In the meantime, we continue to urge owners and drivers of affected Chevy Cobalt and Saturn Ion vehicle to always wear their seat belts and until the vehicle is remedied, to follow GM’s recommendation to use only the ignition key with nothing else on the key ring when operating the vehicle. Owners can also contact GM for information on how to request courtesy transportation.”

MAILBAG — Please hike our tax: A wide-ranging coalition of 82 groups — including AFL-CIO, Waterways Council and the Associated General Contractors of America — have written Senate Finance leaders Ron Wyden and Orrin Hatch asking for a hike in the user fee paid by barge and towing companies. The groups say that the tax, currently 20 cents per gallon for fuel going to the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, should be 26 to 29 cents instead. “We hope that members of the Senate Finance Committee will support inclusion of an increase to the user fee in comprehensive tax reform or any appropriate revenue measure ahead.” http://politico.pro/1rGxi3Y

A heavy issue: Safety groups like Parents Against Tired Truckers and Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways wrote Secretary Foxx voicing concern with an ongoing study on the safety impact of truck size and weight increases. That DOT study is “hurtling toward its conclusion despite numerous problems identified by the National Academy of Sciences,” the officials wrote. “These on-going problems will prejudice the outcome of the Study and unfairly favor efforts by corporate trucking interests to increase federal truck size and weight limits to the detriment of safety for all road users.” http://politico.pro/1hIDyFo

Say no: Former House T&I Chairman Jim Oberstar wants DOT to reject Norwegian Air International’s application to fly in the United States. “I believe that this is an important inflection point for how we as a nation project and secure America’s role in the global aviation marketplace,” the Minnesotan wrote Foxx. http://politico.pro/1kfgjkQ

RAIL SAFETY BILL COMING: New York and Connecticut members that have Metro-North service in their districts are planning a rail safety bill, Reps. Rosa DeLauro, Jim Himes, Elizabeth Esty and Sean Patrick Maloney said on Monday. The bill would mandate the implementation of a railroad safety risk reduction program, require safety “alerters” that sound an alarm in Metro-North cars and “require a timeline” for positive train control. PTC is often pointed to as a way to improve rail safety, but its implementation continues to be slow ahead of a December 2015 deadline. The MTA said yesterday that it has expanded a contract that will let it speed up installing PTC equipment in 836 Long Island Rail Road and 474 Metro-North rail cars ( http://bit.ly/1lr7nvh).

BREAKING MEWS: The movement to allow pets on Amtrak trains is picking up speed — there’s a new pilot program in Illinois that lets rail-riders take their cat or dog on the train. There are notable restrictions: No animals larger than 20 pounds, nothing other than dogs or cats, and Fido or Mittens will have to stay in the cage under the seat. The pets can only board — with owners who’ve paid a $25 fee — in Chicago, Naperville and Galesburg, and can ride on trains running between Chicago and Quincy as part of the Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg lines. The pilot program will last from May 5 to Nov. 2. http://bit.ly/1mRiWM8

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)

- Foxx is still working on his predecessor’s cause, warning against the “epidemic” of distracted driving. Scott for Pros: http://politico.pro/1lqQjFN

- Toyota to consolidate its U.S. operations in Plano, Texas, with a late 2017 target move-in date. Automotive News: http://bit.ly/1k5swHf

- Sen. Chuck Schumer has a plan to reform the embattled Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Capital New York’s Dana Rubenstein for Pros: http://politico.pro/1rxQ1wT

- UAW and labor group IndustriALL seek Department of State mediation of talks with Nissan. Detroit Free Press: http://on.freep.com/1kmg0pL

- Virginia officials look to ease congestion on I-66, with an eye on tolls for new capacity. WTOP: http://bit.ly/1tWQOLK

- AT&T is working on a new WiFi system for its planes, and Internet provider Gogo didn’t fare well on the news. Business Insider: http://read.bi/1m4Gax3

THE COUNTDOWN: MAP-21 expires and DOT funding runs out in 155 days. FAA policy is up in 520 days. The mid-term elections are in 189 days and the 2016 presidential election is in 924 days.

CABOOSE — Guess the Metro station: You think you know your Metro stations, huh? Part three of this fun pictorial quiz from Greater Greater Washington might knock you down a peg if you miss one or two. Answers will be posted tomorrow: http://bit.ly/PMmu6a

Authors:

About The Author

Adam Snider is a transportation reporter for POLITICO Pro and author of Morning Transportation. He has covered transportation since 2007, joining POLITICO in 2011 to launch MT and later found the word “Mica-ism.”

Snider is a fan of all modes of transportation, though nothing beats a good silly walk. In his spare time, he can be found brewing a hoppy beer, rooting for the Nationals, watching a bad 1970s horror movie or exploring the District from his home base in Mount Pleasant.

Adam studied English and communications at Clemson University in South Carolina. His work has been featured by Nieman Journalism Lab and his snark has appeared on MSNBC. He has had several works of fiction published in literary journals and is constantly reminded of his proclamation to a fiction professor many years ago that journalism is for sellouts who abandon their creative dreams.